


Tuff Luck

by Spinofflady



Series: Race to the Edge [11]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 16:29:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9080440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spinofflady/pseuds/Spinofflady
Summary: When Hiccup accidentally calls Tuffnut his uncle, life at Dragon's Edge gets turned upside down.





	1. Chapter 1

There was one event that always stops work, no matter what it might be, on Dragon’s Edge—the first snow of the year. Granted, by the end of Devastating Winter everyone was sick and tired of the cold, wet mush, but the first one was always enjoyed.

So when the dragon riders woke up to find a sparkling layer of white on the ground, they immediately started to have fun. Snowball fights and sledding were of course the favorites, but each year the games continued to get more and more creative.

On Berk, they were considered far too old to roll around in the snow, but out by themselves, the nine found it easy to act far younger than their ages and have some fun. Hiccup had been very excited to find that the snow was sticky and after the initial snowball fight, he set to work on a bust of Toothless. Fishlegs was collecting snowflakes, Dagur, Snotlout and the twins were having a Snowball battle (which is much more strategic than a fight) and the girls were making a design with their footprints.

By midday everyone was cold and hungry, so they barreled into the clubhouse to thaw out. They eagerly sipped piping hot tea and devoured the stew that Catia had made. She, having grown up in much warmer climates, couldn’t stand the cold for as long and decided to make some food.

Everyone began talking about what was to be done next. The twins wanted to see who could stand the most snow torture, which basically meant they would drop snow down everyone’s backs and whoever gave up lost. Not even Snotlout was interested in that.

Astrid and Heather wanted to have a skiing competition, but Hiccup said there was too much ice on the slopes. Fishlegs was still trying to warm his toes up, and wanted to do nothing but that. Catia didn’t want to go back out either, and suggested they play an inside game.

Dagur immediately challenged Hiccup to Maces and Talons, earning a groan from the others. They knew the two could play for hours and would be more than grumpy if interrupted.

“Maces and Talons wasn’t quite what I meant,” Catia said, stopping the two before they could reach the game board. “I meant something we could all play, together.”

“Yeah, like hide and go kill!” Ruffnut suggested eagerly.

“No,” Astrid said dryly.

“Or pin the sword in the Viking!”

“No.”

“Truth or dare!”

Astrid opened her mouth to reply, but Tuffnut jumped in and cut her off. “Dare!” he shouted, “I choose dare!”

Ruffnut grinned. “I dare you to set your hair on fire and put it out with tea!”

Tuffnut clearly would’ve done so, but Hiccup interrupted. “I remember this game I used to play with my cousins. We would all be bored while the adults were talking, and my uncle…Tuffnut!”

Everyone turned and found Tuffnut dangling his blonde dreadlocks over the fire, dangerously close to the flames. Dagur grabbed him and pulled him down.

“What are you doing?” Hiccup asked, walking over and peering down at him. “Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?”

“He didn’t have a choice,” Ruffnut put in angrily. “I dared him, so he has to do it!”

“No, he really doesn’t,” Hiccup replied, arms folded. Tuffnut stared up at him a look of awe on his face. “What?” Hiccup asked, slightly weirded out by the expression.

“I didn’t know I was your uncle!” Tuffnut replied, scrambling to his feet.

“You aren’t,” Hiccup said, confused.

“But you just said I was! You said ‘my uncle Tuffnut!’”

Hiccup chuckled, “Tuffnut, I didn’t finish my sentence. I was talking about my uncle Ander, and then I found it necessary to talk to you, and it came out ‘uncle Tuffnut.’”

“There! You said it again!”

“Uh, no I didn’t. I was explaining how you were mistaken.”

“I pretty sure I heard you call him “uncle Tuffnut,’” Ruffnut chimed in. “It doesn’t matter if it was an accident. Family is family.”

“We aren’t family!” Hiccup groaned desperately, glancing around at his friends for help.

“Oh, we are now, my nephew,” Tuffnut exclaimed, wrapping his arm around Hiccup’s shoulders. “From now on, you can call me ‘good ol’ uncle Tuff’ or uncle Tuff for short. And I will call you ‘my boy’ because that’s what uncles call their nephews.”

Hiccup glared at Astrid, begging her to say something to get him out of this mess. She just shrugged, chuckling along with Heather and Catia.

“And if Tuffnut is your uncle,” Ruffnut mumbled, thinking hard. “That makes me your Aunt! You can call me Auntie Ruff, and I will call you Hiccup except for when you do something wrong, then I will have to use your full name.”

“Come, my boy,” Tuffnut said extravagantly, “I will show you everything I have learned through the years!”

The others watched, fighting the urge to laugh as Hiccup was dragged out the door with Ruffnut and Tuffnut, who were already discussing which pranks they should teach him first.

. . .

Hiccup tried to ignore the shaking. He should get up, he needed to get up and be productive, but he was so exhausted from the day before that he was pretty sure he couldn’t. Ruffnut and Tuffnut had dragged him all over the island, trying to teach him all their pranking knowledge. He did not want to get out of bed and face another day of torture.

“Come on, Hiccup. Wake up.”

The shaking had stopped and was replaced with gentle and soothing rubbing on his back. He slowly pried his eyes open, and stared hazily up at Astrid. She smiled down at him. “I kicked the twins out,” she smiled, brushing hair out of his face. “I can’t believe all that shaking didn’t wake you up.”

“That was the twins?” Hiccup swallowed thickly, hoping that it would somehow ease his pounding headache.

“Yeah,” she replied, cupping his face with her hand tenderly. “Oh, Hiccup, you’re so warm!” Her smile was replaced with worry and she felt his forehead, sighing. “I think you might have a fever. How do you feel?”

“Not so great,” he admitted, realizing that chills and aches were running through his body.

“I’m going to get Catia,” Astrid said, rising from her place next to him. “This is the third time you’ve been sick in the past few months.”

She walked out, strictly forbidding the twins to go back in. It wasn’t long before she returned with Catia, who sat him up and started to look him over.

“Any nausea or vomiting?” she asked, feeling the back of his neck.

“No,” he replied quietly, his head still pounding.

“Chest pressure or trouble breathing?”

“No. I had a slight cough last night, though.”

“That was more than likely just the cold,” she told him; lifting his shirt and placing her hand on his bare back, earning a suspicious glare from Astrid. “Breathe in,” she said; hoping Astrid would understand it was not how it appeared. “And out.”

Hiccup released the air in his lungs with a tired sigh, Catia feeling around for any sign of respiratory irritation. She removed her hand and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “You’re fine.”

“Well, he’s obviously not fine,” Astrid exclaimed, a hand on her hip. “He’s running a fever!”

“A fever does not necessarily mean sick,” Catia explained. “It’s just an elevated body temperature. You and Hiccup were both treated with Perondis when you had the Scourge. One of the side effects is random, spontaneous fevers that only last for a few hours. Hiccup will likely be fine by this evening.”

“Oh, that explains when we both got sick just before Heather broke her ankle,” Astrid put in thoughtfully. “Come to think of it, there were a couple other times I was probably feverish and just ignored it.”

“Well, I’m glad to know I’m not dying,” Hiccup said finally, slumping back on his bed and pulling a fur around his shoulders. “But I still feel terrible.”

“Just sleep it off,” Catia encouraged, heading for the door. “You could use some extra rest anyway.”

Astrid stayed behind for a few minutes, doing her best to make Hiccup comfortable. She placed a quick kiss on his warm forehead and left him to sleep.

Hiccup lay in bed for some time, in a half asleep state that left him even more tired. He was either too hot or too cold and continuously had to move the furs around to find the right temperature. Toothless grumbled beside him, nosing his Rider anxiously.

“I’m okay, bud,” Hiccup assured, briefly scratching his dragon’s neck. “I just don’t feel all that good right now.”

There was a sudden clanging outside his window, jerking him out of his half-sleep. Hiccup rolled over to see what to racket was, and at first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But within seconds, Tuffnut stuck his head through the window, his helmet scraping along the sides.

“Hiccup my boy!” he said excitedly, trying to push his way through the small opening. “I heard you were sick, so your Auntie Ruff and I have come to cheer you up!” Tuffnut managed to wriggle through the window and came crashing down on the floor. He staggered to his feet, only to have his sister come crashing down on him.

Hiccup drew in a deep breath as he waited for the two to untangle themselves. They wouldn’t hear him if he said anything otherwise. “Thanks, guys,” he said finally. “But what I really need right now is sleep.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Ruffnut told him with a wave of her hand. “Everyone knows laughter is the best medicine, so we are here to make you laugh!”

Hiccup inwardly groaned. Laughing was the next to last thing he wanted to do at the present. (Getting out of bed being the very last.) His head was pounding, feverish chills were racing up and down his limbs, and he was growing more tired by the minute. “Listen, I really just want to sleep. That is the best medicine for me.”

Tuffnut snorted loudly. “Pu-lease. Laughing is the best thing ever. It cures me of sicknesses all the time. So prepare yourself Mr. Haddock! We will make you laugh until you cannot breathe!”

“Really, Tuff-”

“No, no, no!” Tuffnut interjected. “That’s ‘Uncle Tuff’ to you!”

“Fine, _Uncle Tuff_ , could you please let me get some sleep?”

Ruffnut walked over and manhandled Hiccup up into a sitting position. “Now, now, dear,” she said sweetly, or as sweetly as Ruffnut Thorston can manage, “we understand that you want to be left alone. It’s just a stage you’re going through. You’ll grow out of it.”

“Ruff…I mean, Auntie Ruff, I really want just sleep in peace and quiet, so please leave.”

“Hiccup, darling-”

“Do NOT call me ‘darling!’”

“Alright, sweetie-”

“Or sweetie.”

“Pumpkin?”

“No!” Hiccup finally had enough of the twins. “Toothless!”

The dragon leapt to his feet, and roaring, he chased the twins out of the hut. Feeling worse than ever, Hiccup pulled the blankets over his head and curled up to sleep.

. . .

Hiccup recovered by that evening, just as Catia had predicted, but he was still as irritated with Ruffnut and Tuffnut as he had been. They refused to let the “Aunt and Uncle” ordeal go, which only anger Hiccup further.

Astrid, of course, tried to keep the twins out of his hair, but she had all she could do to keep Ruffnut from tucking him in for the night. But that was hours ago, and now Astrid was laying in her bed, staring at the window, waiting.

She was waiting, as she had been for the past hour, for the moon to rise above the top of the window. When it reached that point, she knew it was about midnight. She watched it anxiously, wishing it would rise faster. The moon finally moved out of view, and Astrid jumped out of her bed, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

She dug around in her chest of clothes, searching for her winter coat, but failing to find it among everything else; she grabbed a fur off her bed. Wrapping it around her shoulders, she silently made her way to the door, hoping Stormfly would remain asleep.

The dragon stirred only a little, and Astrid ran quietly away from her hut. The snow crunched under her feet, and she could see her breath in the moonlight. The cold air filled her lungs, causing a shiver to run through her. She pulled the fur closer around her shoulders, knowing that the cold would be worth it. It would be worth the cold, the waiting—oh so very much worth it!

She slowed as she neared the edge of the trees, scanning the area. But the woods seemed abandoned on the cold, snowy night. Sighing, she turned around.

Someone jumped out in front of her, and Astrid sucked in a gasped, but it didn’t take her more than a moment to realize it was just Hiccup.

“Why on earth would you do that?!” she hissed, roughly pushing his shoulder. “I was ready to give you what for!”

Hiccup chuckled. “I guess I should know better.”

Astrid attempted to give him a firm look in response, but couldn’t keep back her smile. She slipped her hand into her _boyfriend’s_ , and the two started down the snow covered path.

Ever since Astrid’s latest scrape with death, Hiccup had made it very clear how he felt about her. She was thrilled with their new relationship, but they found it incredibly difficult to find time alone.

So they treasured their midnight walks, even though it took away from much needed rest. On those walks they could be themselves, with no thought to Viggo or war, no training, no nosy friends, not even the dragons. It was just them, no one else, and that was the best part.

But tonight seemed different. As Astrid talked pleasantly about the snow, she could tell that Hiccup wasn’t remotely thinking the same thing. He was obviously worried and stressed; he wasn’t _her_ Hiccup.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked, moving closer and affectionately brushing shoulders with him. “You seem a million miles away.”

“Just a few, actually,” he said with a small smile. “Sorry. I shouldn’t be anywhere but here.”

“That’s true,” Astrid smiled back. “But I’d still like to know what you were thinking about.”

Hiccup gave a heavy sigh, halting. “Viggo,” he murmured, staring up at the starry sky. “I just feel like he should’ve made a move by now. We formed an alliance with the Defenders of the Wing, which is exactly what he didn’t want. He still hasn’t countered that. It just worries me.”

“Sometimes I think you worry too much,” she said softly, moving to stand in front of him. She placed her hands on his chest and gently fingered the leather as she decided what to say next. “Maybe that was a big enough blow to him that he is holding off his plans for a while.”

“That’s what I worried about,” Hiccup moaned, hanging his head. “What if this is the calm before the storm? What if he’s waiting for us to let our guard down before he hit’s us with everything he’s got? What if-”

“What if you are over thinking this?” Astrid interrupted, cupping his cheek with her hand. “Hiccup, we’re all worried. We all know the dangers. When Viggo makes a move, we’re ready to fight back. You’re not the only one in this mess. Okay?”

Hiccup smiled and wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling her hair. “Okay,” he replied. “What would I do without you?”

“I really don’t know,” she answered with a laugh. But her brief happiness slowly faded, and she buried her face in Hiccup’s chest with a groan. “I wish there wasn’t a war,” she murmured sadly. “I wish we could just fast-forward to when you and I could just be a normal couple and not almost die on a monthly basis.”

Hiccup chuckled again, holding her tighter. “I wish we could fast-forward time so that we were older and I could marry you.” With that he spun her around, his heart swelling at her joyful giggles.

“Marry me?” she finally managed between laughs. “At least I know you’re not afraid of commitment!”

Hiccup laughed heartily. “Commitment? You’ll be hard pressed to get rid of me!” He sobered suddenly and released his grip around her shoulders. “But while we’re on the topic of marriage,” he went on slowly. “I guess it’s something we should probably think about. I know we’re still young, but there’s really no point in our current relationship if that’s not where we’re headed.”

Astrid nodded thoughtfully. “I had thought of that,” she answered, glad they were on the same page. “And I honestly can’t imagine having a future with anyone but you.”

“You do realize what that means, right? That would eventually make you a chief’s wife, and that’s a lot of responsibility in itself.”

“How hard can it be?” Astrid joked. “All I have to do is bare you a son, right?”

Hiccup laughed, shaking his head. “While that might be ideal, I hadn’t even thought of that. I was talking more about the role model type stuff. My entire life, I’ve been stuck in a stereotype. I wasn’t the traditional ‘Viking’ anyway, and it certainly didn’t help that I was a chief’s son. People expect me to be perfect, to always have an answer, to always lead. I don’t want to get you wrapped up in something like that.”

Astrid let out a sigh. “No, I don’t particularly want everyone to look up to me. But I do want to stay with you. I want to marry you someday, and we can have the village look up to us, and talk about us behind our backs, and mock us if that’s what they want. But we’ll be together, and that’s all I want.”

“Good,” Hiccup smiled, leaning down to kiss her. “That’s all I want, too.” Astrid eagerly closed the gap, having found her new boyfriend to be a delightfully good kisser. It lasted for what seemed hours, but was cut short by a rather unpleasant interruption.

“Aren’t they just so cute?” A voice from behind them said.

The two whirled around, finding the Thorston twins watching from a rock. “That they are,” Tuffnut said in response to his sister.

“What are you doing here?” Hiccup shouted, stepping forward.

“Just chaperoning,” Tuffnut said simply. “As our nephew, you are our responsibility, so we decided-”

Tuffnut never had the chance to finish, as Hiccup was furiously chasing both of them into the woods. He finally returned, out of breathe and red in the face. “I have got to stop this ridiculous nonsense,” he grumbled.

“I think I might have an idea,” Astrid told him slyly, leading him back to their base. “But we might have to work on your acting skills.”


	2. Chapter 2

Hiccup walked confidently into the clubhouse for breakfast, rehearsing the acting lessons Astrid had given him the night before. This plan had to work, because if it didn’t, he would lose every ounce of dignity he had.

With a deep breath, he stepped inside the meeting room, and announced his presence by purposefully tripping into a pile of boxes. The clattering noise got everyone’s attention, and Snotlout burst out laughing.

“Hey look at the klutz!” He shouted, nearly double.

Hiccup scrambled to his feet, holding his fists up. “You want to fight, Snotlout?”

Snotlout clearly remembered losing two of his teeth to Hiccup’s deadly fist, and quickly sat down. “No, but only because I don’t feel like pummeling you into the ground right now.”

Hiccup smirked, his face turning slightly red at the sight of his peers all staring at him. Astrid gave him a glance, as if asking him to step up his game. He sat down in a chair and with his elbows on the table, held his head in his hands. “When’s breakfast?” he grumbled, sounding rather like and impatient little kid.

“Heather and Catia are cooking it right now,” Fishlegs told him awkwardly, obviously confused by Hiccup’s strange behavior.

“Can’t they cook any faster? I’m hungry.”

“What got into you?” Snotlout asked, equally confused.

“Nothing!” Hiccup snarled. “I just want food now!”

Ruffnut and Tuffnut had been staring at Hiccup with wide eyes the entire time, wondering if it was something they had done to make him act like such a snob. It seemed so odd that they could have actually turned him into this…person.

Heather and Catia finally carried out their food, eyeing one another, clearly out of rivalry. They set the dishes down and started to serve the food but Hiccup reached across the table and grabbed the plates before they had the chance. He shoved a spoonful of Catia’s egg and potato mix in his mouth, screwing up his face.

“Yuck,” he whined, pushing the plate away and earning a horrified face from Catia. “That’s gross!”

“Yes! Finally!” Heather shouted, letting out a whoop. “My cooking is superior!”

Hiccup shoved one of her rolls in his mouth, only to spit the half chewed mess out onto the table. “And that’s even grosser!” Heather frowned.

Everyone was looking on quite disgusted and utterly bewildered. “I think that fever got to his brain,” Snotlout whispered to Fishlegs.

“It did not!” Hiccup yelled pounding his fist on the table. “This food is gross and you guys are all weird! I’m hungry and I want something good RIGHT NOW!” With that he screwed up his face and slid off his chair, crumpling on the floor. “I’m hungry!” he whined dramatically, kicking the table leg.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut were slowly sneaking out the back of the room, hoping to avoid Hiccup’s little temper tantrum. But Astrid saw them first.

“Ruff! Tuff! Do something!” she told them gesturing to Hiccup, who was now sprawled across the floor, screaming and wailing with all his might.

“We have nothing to do with this!” Ruffnut said defensively. “Promise!”

“He’s your nephew, and you said yourself that he was your responsibility. So stop him before he hurts someone!”

Glancing at each other, the twins grabbed Hiccup by his arms and dragged him out of the clubhouse, Hiccup kicking and fighting the whole way.

“Okay,” Heather said, her arms folded. “Someone needs to explain what just happened.”

“First of all, Hiccup is still sane,” Astrid told her friends, motioning for them to relax. “I had a feeling you might be thinking otherwise. This is our plan to stop Ruff and Tuff’s ‘aunt and uncle’ nonsense. They think they are responsible for Hiccup’s actions, no matter how awful. Maybe if his actions are bad enough, they’ll let the whole thing go.”

“You better be right,” Dagur said, rubbing his forehead. “I don’t know how much of this we can take.”

. . .

Hiccup was sitting in the corner of the twins hut, whining and complaining about every teeny tiny thing he could. He was bored, hungry, and unhappy, and not afraid to make that fact known.

“What are we going to do?” Ruffnut asked her brother. “He’s impossible!”

“I don’t know,” he replied, eyeing his nephew. “He doesn’t want to play or eat or prank people or anything. Do you think there’s something wrong with him?”

“How am I supposed to know? I’ve never seen him like this!”

“I’ll try again,” Tuffnut offered, slowly walking up to Hiccup as if he were a wild dragon. “Okay, Hiccup,” he said tactfully. “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know,” Hiccup growled. “Everything is boring! You’re boring!”

“Watch it, mister,” Ruffnut retorted, walking over. “That’s your uncle Tuff you’re talking to!”

“I want to paint,” Hiccup muttered, glaring at the twins as if daring them to deny him what he wanted. “With all the colors. And all the paper.”

“Then paint we shall,” Tuffnut announced, walking over to the cupboard and pulling out the jars of paint and paper. “What are we painting?”

“The walls!” Hiccup shouted excitedly, jumping up and grabbing the jars before either Thorston could stop him. He splashed the paint on the wood and started to mix the colors around with his hands.

“No!” Tuffnut shouted, tackling Hiccup to the ground. “No wall painting!”

“Then I’ll paint you!” Hiccup decided, smearing his messy hands across Tuffnut’s face with a giddy smile.

Tuffnut pushed away, wiping paint out of his eyes giving Hiccup the chance to escape. Covered in paint himself, Hiccup grabbed the paper, crumpled it up, and stuck it on the paint covered wall.

“Stop it this instant!” Ruffnut shouted, trying to wrestle the paper from him. “You’re making a mess!”

“But it’s fun!” Hiccup laughed, desperately trying to reach the wall. “I want to make more messes!” He finally pulled away from Ruffnut and ran out the door, tipping over their stuffed yak as he went.

“What do we do?” Ruffnut asked frantically, helping her brother up.

“Catch him!” Tuffnut gasped, running out the door. “He’ll destroy everything! Hurry!”

. . .

Hiccup ran through Dragon’s Edge, overturning every, bucket, barrel, and box in his path. He could hear the twins behind him, hysterically begging him to stop. He wasn’t anywhere near ready to stop unless they were. He ducked inside the forge, deciding to let the twins spend a little more time looking for him.

“Hiccup!” they called, searching the base for any sign of him. “Come out; come out, wherever you are!”

“What if we never find him?” Ruffnut whimpered. “We’ll be the worst Aunt and uncle in history!”

“Everyone will be so mad if we lose Hiccup,” Tuffnut added, looking behind a rock for the third time. “He’s the leader, and they’ll hold us responsible…Ruff, this might cost us our lives!”

“So what do we do?!” Ruffnut begged, looking inside a barrel. Hiccup couldn’t have gone that far; he didn’t much of a head start.

“We keep looking,” Tuffnut replied, checking behind the rock again. The two slowly made their way up to the forge, checking everywhere for Hiccup. As they passed by the building, Hiccup jumped out with a sword in hand.

“Have at thee!” Hiccup shouted, swinging wildly at Tuffnut’s head.

“Hiccup, as your uncle, I am ordering you to put that down!” Tuffnut scrambled out of the way, grabbing a shield to block the blows.

Hiccup clearly had no intention of stopping, and spun around in a circle holding the sword out at arms length. The blade hit a board propped up against the wall, causing it to fall on top of the bellows. The fire was overly stoked, and the flame quickly reached the wooden frame above it. Ruffnut grabbed a bucket of water to extinguish the flame.

Tuffnut now had his own sword, and was fighting back, continually ordering Hiccup to stop. Tuffnut slammed his sword down on Hiccup’s, sending his nephew reeling back across the room, and into a spearhead.

Hiccup gave a small cry of pain, his eyes glazing over as he crumpled to the ground.

Sharing a horrified glance, the twins rushed over and dropped to their knees beside Hiccup.

“What have you done?” Ruffnut whispered, her eyes wide.

Tuffnut didn’t answer at first, obviously shocked. “I didn’t mean too,” he said softly.

“We should get Catia,” Ruffnut decided, standing.

“It’s too late,” Tuffnut sniffed, “I think he’s already dead.”

“Astrid is going to kill us,” Ruffnut mumbled, rubbing her neck at the thought of getting strangled to death. “She said he was our responsibility.”

“We said that,” Tuffnut reminded.

“There has to be a way out. Someway that we won’t get killed for this.”

Both sat thinking hard for several minutes. “We could disown him!” Tuffnut shouted suddenly. “If we disown him, he isn’t family anymore!”

“And that means he isn’t our responsibility! That’s a great idea!”

Tuffnut stood dramatically. “I, Tuffnut Thorston, along with my sister, Ruffnut Thorston, aunt and uncle to Hiccup Haddock, hereby disown him!”

Hiccup suddenly sat up, brushed his hands off, and with a smile left the forge, propping the board up on his way out.

“Are you kidding me?!” Tuffnut shouted after Hiccup. “There will be reproductions for this!”

Ruffnut rolled her eyes. “Repercussions,” she told him.

“Tomato, tomahto.” Tuffnut retorted as he lead the way back to their hut, and the mess that awaited them.

. . .

Ryker angrily stormed into his brother’s tent, kicking the small Terrible Terror in his way. “Viggo!” he shouted, as he yanked open the curtain door.

“Ah, Ryker,” Viggo smiled calmly, setting aside the book he was writing in. “What can I do for you?”

Ryker stomped up to the desk and slammed his fist down on the table. “You can explain to me why we haven’t launched another attack on the Dragon Riders!” he growled. “We are only giving them the chance to grow stronger!”

Viggo chuckled, shutting his book and putting it to the side. “On the contrary, brother,” he started, standing and walking thoughtfully across his tent. “We are launching a deadly attack, one far more effective than any other, by simply doing nothing.”

Ryker stared at his brother, failing to see his reasoning. Granted, Viggo was the brains of the family, but this seemed to have no sense behind it whatsoever. How could doing nothing be a form of attack? Especially when the Dragon Riders had just formed an alliance with the Defenders of the Wing! “I don’t follow.”

“It’s simple,” Viggo went on, clearly enjoying to opportunity to make his brother feel unintelligent. “You see, Hiccup is one to use his brain. He is beginning to comprehend my plans, which of course, is what I want. But Hiccup is also an expert at worrying, and he will, if given the chance, worry himself to insanity.”

Ryker chuckled. “He doesn’t seem like one to lose his nerve, much less sanity.”

“Ryker, he is trying to anticipate our next move. If we don’t make a move, he will simply keep anticipating.”

“And eventually let his guard down,” Ryker finished; sure he’d finally caught on.

But Viggo sighed, showing he obviously hadn’t. “No. He will drive himself insane. And without Hiccup, the Dragon Riders are nothing. Without the Dragon Riders, the Defenders of the Wing are nothing. Without Hiccup, this war will be over, and we will take back what is ours.”

“The Dragon Riders are too smart for that.”

“It’s not the Dragon Riders that we want; not even the dragons. We are here to finish what our ancestors started and Ahraya refused to continue.”

“Ahraya’s dead, Viggo.”

“Ahraya, yes. But the girl is still out there. She knows, Ryker. Ahraya would never have let such crucial information die with her.”

“Even if she did know, she would never tell you willingly.”

“No, perhaps not. But I’m sure she will demonstrate her knowledge, with a little persuasion.” Viggo trailed off, started at the Maces and Talons board. The game was missing the Traitor, which had been sent to Hiccup as a message. Perhaps it was time to send him another. He slowly picked up the shield maiden, a cruel smile tugging at his lips.

“Ryker, I believe you are right,” Viggo announced. “It’s time to advance our plans. But this time, there will be no escape. This time, failure equals death.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And...once again, I've left you on a cliff hanger! Never fear, my good readers, the next book is written and coming soon. It's called "Supply and Demand, Part 1." 
> 
> Keep in mind, its a part one, so be prepared for a cliff hanger! 
> 
> Thanks as always for reading! Let me know your thoughts in the comments and don't forget to leave kudos!
> 
> ~Spinofflady


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